Friday, April 11, 2014

I miss my little baby

Its funny how you spend so many months willing your baby to learn new skills and move forward with everything and then the more advanced they get, the more you miss the little helpless baby. You can't wait for them to roll over, to crawl, talk, walk etc. The thing is once they start doing those things it brings with it a whole new kettle of anxiety because there's so many more ways for them to hurt themselves. You'd think as they get older there'd be less ways for them to get into trouble, but apparently it just gets worse (as least for us mums on the worrying front).

Take learning to roll as an example - I was super excited for her to learn to roll. I felt like one of those cheerleaders parents at a sporting game yelling encouragement from the sidelines. In fact I was probably over encouraging - bribing her with toys to go to certain sides and what not. In the beginning I was so caught up with her meeting her milestones on time or early I didn't really soak in the joy of an immobile baby (you may think that sounds weird, but once your own babies start moving you'll understand where I'm coming from). Back when her four month checkup was looming the child health nurses told me rolling would be one thing they definitely had to check for on their list. Way to make me paranoid about my childs development. Anyway the problem was, while rolling during the daytime and on the play mat was a good thing, rolling in itself presented other more fear inducing moments. One I was majorly dreading was her being able to roll in her sleep. Of course once they learn to roll in the day they inevitably, and quickly, realise they can do it at night time too (when nobody's watching or awake to stop them). *Insert paranoid mum staying awake half the night to make sure baby doesn't suffocate here*

I kid you not for the first week or so I was a nervous wreck even though she was sleeping completely fine and had no problem with being on her tummy. I was lucky (in a sense) that she wasn't one of those babies who cried everytime she ended up on her belly. Of course that just made me more anxious because apart from checking on her I never knew when she'd rolled over. All I kept thinking of over and over in my head was the midwives drumming into me thatif babies sleep on their stomach it increases the chance of sids. I was literally up and down all night rolling her over onto her back. I did more nervous pee's throughout the night during that time than I've ever done before. It was a good thing because each time I got up to pee I could roll her back over (and that's probably exactly why my body was subconsciously doing it).As soon as she started rolling she also started kicking off her blanket and crawling up the bed during the night. We sleep with the air-con on in our room so she needs to stay warm enough at night. Apparently, when I did this as a baby mum's solution was to safety pin a blanket to my clothes - so I keep being told. What a difference a couple of decades makes - we now have these wonderful things called sleeping bags (sarcasm intended). Thankfully I'd transitioned her to a swaddle up 50/50 before she learnt to roll so moving her to a proper sleeping bag was a natural progression and relatively painless.

She looks so comfy I don't know why she needs to roll onto her tummy and freak me out so much

I chose the INVENTA sleeping bag by Love to Dream. It's hypo-allergenic with natural bamboo lining. If you've been following my blog for a while you'll know bamboo is my new favourite fabric, especially when bub is concerned. Its natural, super soft and also helps control body temperature by drawing moisture away from the body. Anything with bamboo in it is always at the top of my list, especially when it comes to sleeping products. She sweats a lot and I'm always concerned about her being too hot or cold during the night, so the bamboo helps to control that. In addition, the INVENTA sleeping bags also have a cooling mesh vent which can be opened or closed to help further regulate her body temp when needed.

They also have the Longa Shorta length feature which means you can adjust the length as your baby grows. Its a simple clip system (as seen in pic above) which can be done up or undone as required and it doesn't affect the use of the bag. It's great because a lot of sleeping bags only go to a certain length and then you need to buy a new longer one. We have the 4-12 month version of the bag and shes 8 1/2 months and still fits into the bag with the length clipped up so it'll most likely last her until after 12 months. The other feature I love about the bag (in the 1.0 tog) is the owl print because she's completely obsessed with owls (hence why I'm spending hours on pinterest planning an owl party theme).

For a more detailed visual explanation of how the sleep bag works check out this video. I would also recommend putting the sleeping bag on before they're asleep (as shown in the video) because she has become a bit restless the few times we've put her in it after she's been asleep.

The sleep bag has certainly helped to reduce my fears around her being too cold at night and makes me feel more comfortable with the fact that she doesn't have a sheet over her. I actually prefer her having a sleeping bag on as opposed to a blanket or sheet because it eliminates the chance of her getting twisted up and stuck under a blanket at night. So, with the use of the sleeping bag and the wisdom of time, I've slowly learnt over the last month to move past my fear of her sleeping on her belly. Which is a huge blessing because now I actually sleep at night again and don't wake up to check on her every hour.

Of course once you overcome one thing another jumps straight into its place. She's now mastered the art of crawling and is already trying to climb everything. She's an expert at cruising along her cot, the coffee table and her toy box already. No wonder why us mums never have any energy at night, we've spent all day trying not to have a heart attack. I wish she would just slow down a bit instead of moving ahead at light speed. When did she start morphing into a toddler? I miss my little baby girl.

Please tell me the heart attack moments will pass...?

Toni xx

* Disclosure - I was gifted an INVENTA sleeping bag from the lovely team at Love to Dream after I mentioned in a previous post that we were going to use them. All opinions are my own based on our experience with the product and were in no way influenced by Love to Dream. I did not receive payment for this post.

38 comments:

I had a little one who always ended up on her tummy, slept better for it too. My eldest is turning 20 and yes I still reflect back on the years gone by and really miss them, seems to be the norm for us mums. :-) I have babies stay with our role as foster carers I'll keep my eye open for this inventa sleeping bag. Thanks for sharing.

they do grow so fast dont they. my baby will be two at the end of june and i have no idea how she got this big so fast! my bigger baby started school this year and has just finished his first term - i dont know where five years went! i miss my babiesxx i've stopped using bags now because my babies climbs the cot in hers! but its good to know good ones for gifts they really are great handy things :)

Yeah, no the heart attack moments just get worse. Punky does not sit still, and as a result is constantly having near misses and my heart is in my throat. Love, love, LOVE the Love to Dream range, we started using them when Punky was 4 weeks old and Zee has been in them all her life. This post actually reminds me that I need to find Punky's Inventa sleeping bag and give it a wash so Zee can start to use it now the evenings are starting to get colder.

My second bub just had his 4 month check so I am hearing you. I used to be a paediatric physio so I was a bit crazy about the first meeting gross motor milestones, I'm a bit more relaxed with number two luckily!

I went through the same as you, Elliott always kicked off his blankets too and I'm so grateful for the sleeping bags we had. I'm a bit worried about his winter though, he's too big for sleeping bags now and I worry he will kick the blanket off. Looks like we will be bringing up the heater!

The heart attack moments never stop!! I was exactly like you with my first!! I am threatening death to anyone who teaches my 8 month old to move or talk!! All my babies were late rollers this one is no different.I am a big fan of sleeping bags, your one sounds very interesting will check it out as I need another one.

I would have loved a sleeping bag like this when mine were little. I had three under three, and you would think by the third you should have the whole parenting thing under control. Only for my youngest to arrived ten week's early with a hole in her heart. I was basically a nervous wreck worrying about her that first year. Of course mine are now 13, 14 & 15 and you don't stop worrying about them.

I am so right there with you wishing we could slow them down just a little - my brother is harrassing me to hand over the cot for his new bub due in a few weeks so looks like our little dino baby will be in a bed long before I'm ready to accept that she's growing up!

Wait until she starts climbing! When Mr 4 was about 18 months old he climbed up his pram and lost his footing. He face planted the bitumen and had the biggest egg, a black eye and a graze across his forehead. It didn't stop him from trying to scale the bookshelf a few hours later!

She tries to climb her highchair and the tv cabinet at the moment and if I don't strap her into the pram she can roll and climb out of that. I swear kids are ninjas. She'll fall down too and then later do the same thing again. They have no fear!

I had the same feeling of wanting them to achieve their milestones, but realising how fast they grow. I am always aware of the saying "wishing your life away'. My eldest is 21 and I so wish I could go back and relish his younger years!

Loooove the sleeping bag. Finally the cooler nights have set in and Edie has slept nearly all night wearing one. Don't you just love how they curl up into the corners of the cot. And yes, they certainly do grow up quick, though I get to do it all again in August with #3. Oh my!!!

They never do pass, those heart attack moments, they become more like angina! But sleeping at night is one of the big things I worry about, warmth, cold but they usually sort it out. My first two loved bags, third didn't so it sucks as he gets cold and wakes up! And yes they do grow TOO fast, sad but true x

So true about savouring our baby before they soon outgrow their baby-ness. It's a mixed feeling watching our baby grow... at the exact moment we're cheering them on and excited on them reaching the next milestone, but also feeling wistful over the fact that it means they are growing up. I think we'll be carrying this feeling for the rest of our lives as we watch them grow and even as they move into adulthood... we'll always think back on the tiny helpless little thing that used to snuggle in our arms.

She is gorgeous Toni! My middle girl is still a restless sleeper, at nearly 9. She always managed to wriggle into every part of her cot, throw off all her blankets and sleep in every possible position. She still manages to throw all her cushions and blankets onto the floor - but thankfully she is old enough to pull her blanket back on if she gets cold in the night now!

I'm a really restless sleeper and so is her dad (judging by how many times he rolls on top of me during the night), so I guess she's doomed on that front. I'm looking forward to the day when she can pull her blanket on herself without fear of suffocation.